The present invention relates to a debarking assembly as part of a tree harvester or processor. Preferably, the debarking assembly is combined with delimbing means in order to simultaneously delimb and debark the tree during processing. The tree harvester may also include other implements for further processing of the trees. In particular, the tree harvester preferably includes a shear assembly enabling the harvester to cut standing trees and process them into delimbed and debarked sections of selected length.
Portions of the tree harvester disclosed in the accompanying drawings and described in greater detail below, are set forth in greater detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,669,161 and 3,731,720, both of which are assigned to the Assignee of the present invention, the specific construction of the elements set forth in these references not being of critical importance to the present invention.
Mechanical harvesting and processing of trees is a matter of increasing importance in order to meet the needs of the lumber and paper industries, for example, where it has become common to employ machinery for practically every step in the harvesting and processing of trees. Representative steps in the harvesting of trees include the severing of standing trees, delimbing of the trees, debarking, cutting the trees into sections of selected length. Subsequently, the processed tree sections may be collected for delivery to a mill.
It has been found particularly desirable to combine as many of these steps as possible within a single processing machine, for purposes of economy. It is also desirable that the combined steps be performed by a machine of reliable construction to permit extended operation under sometimes severe conditions.